President Aliyev opens facilities in Ganja, Shamkir
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has opened a number of facilities in the regions of the country, as he toured Ganja and Shamkir on November 14-15.
In Ganja, the head of state attended the opening ceremony of a
new settlement for 600 IDP families.
Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Affairs
of Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov informed the president of the new
settlement features.
The settlement is situated in Kapaz region in Ganja. It has 600
houses, an administrative building, a medical center, a public
center and a postal office. The settlement occupies a total area of
60 hectares. It will accommodate IDPs from Kalbajar region and
Khojaly who live in different parts of the country, including in
Ganja and Hajikand village.
President Aliyev also reviewed conditions created in a kindergarten
for 50 children and the Kosalar village secondary school.
In Shamkir, the head of state opened Shamkirchay water reservoir
and a hydroelectric power station.
Chairman of Azerbaijan Melioration and Water Management OJSC, Ahmad
Ahmadzade informed President Aliyev about the master plan of
Shamkirchay water reservoir, schemes of Shamkirchay main irrigation
canals, major indicators of the construction of the reservoir, and
other facilities.
The hydroelectric power station has a capacity of 25 megawatts.
It will generate 56 million kWh of electric power per year. The
total capacity of Shamkirchay water reservoir is 164.5 million
cubic meters of water, while its net capacity is 156.3 million
cubic meters. The reservoir is a very important contribution to
socio-economic development of the country’s regions.
At a meeting with the participants of the opening ceremony,
President Aliyev congratulated them on the inauguration of the
water reservoir.
“The implementation of this project will increase the area of
the irrigated lands,” said the head of state, adding that
Shamkirchay and Takhtakorpu water reservoirs were a vivid evidence
of Azerbaijan’s economic power.
President Aliyev said these projects funded by the government will
comprehensively support the development of the non-oil sector,
agriculture and entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan.
The president has also attended a ceremony to lay the foundation
stone for Shamkir Agropark.
Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev informed the head
of state on “Agropark” development concept. As the first of its
kind in Azerbaijan, the Agropark will occupy an area of 543
hectares.
The concept will play an important role in increasing the country’s export potential, creating national brands, increasing innovative capacities of small and medium farmers, building a coordinated system in agricultural sector, ensuring integration between the producer, processor and consumer, achieving high productivity, developing highly-skilled specialists in the agrarian sector, and opening new jobs.
President Aliyev also opened a bread factory as part of his visit to Shamkir.
The facility, which occupies an area of 2.8 hectares, is worth 20.5 million manats. The National Fund on Entrepreneurship Support under the Economy and Industry Ministry allocated a 7.5 million manats loan for the construction of the facility.
The factory was built using advanced technologies of leading
foreign companies in order to ensure food security and provide
people with quality bakery products.
The facility will initially produce 15 types of bread. The factory
has a daily capacity of 50 tons. Production process is fully
automated here. The factory purchased eight vehicles to deliver it
products to consumers. The factory will have 15 stores. The
facility created nearly 100 jobs.
The head of state has also attended the opening of a new building of the headquarters in the military town of Shamkir military formation.
Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov reported to Commander-in-Chief
Ilham Aliyev. Hasanov also informed about the situation along
Azerbaijani-Armenian border and the line of contact.
President Aliyev condemned the recent provocation of the Armenian
armed forces when they violated the ceasefire along the line of
contact. The head of state highly appreciated the Azerbaijani armed
forces’ measures to prevent this provocation. He gave relevant
instructions in connection with the situation.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.